Circuit breaker for magnetos



Sept. 1, 1925. 1,552,291

G. FUEGEL ET AL.

CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR MAGNETOS Filed March 5. 1920 JN VENTO/as m, #ff/Mfr 50M/0.

B Y Cim-na Fawn..

A froze/VE y Patented Sept. 1, 1,925.

UNITED sTArESFrATENT OFFICE. l

eOrTLoB EUEGEL, Or BROOKLYN, AND K ERMAN somma, OE KINGSTON, NEW YORK,

AssmNoKs To APOLLO MAGNETO CORPORATION, 0E KINGSTON, NEW YORK, A coR- PORATION 0F DELAWARE.

CIRCUIT BREAKER FOR MAGNETOS.

- Application :Bled March 3, 1920. Serial No. 368,014.

` Improvements in Circuit Breakers for Magnetos, of which the following` is a specificaV tlon.

Our invention relates to an improvement `in circuit makers and breakers; particularly circuit controllers or timers for magnetos in the ignition systems of internal combustion engines.

The primary object of our invention is to provide-a timer comprising but few parts, and so made that the timer can readily be assembled and dismounted for inspection or repairs; the various features being of such a nature that the timer will work perfectly, while its liability to become worn or to get out of order is reduced tothe smallest possible minimum.

A further object of our invention is to provide a circuit breaking lever or interrupter element of such construction as will best serve our purposes when our invention is Operated under practical conditions.

Other objects and advantages of our ini 4vention will appear/from the following description, taken in" connection with the accompanying drawings; and the novel features of our invention will be defined in the appended claims. This disclosure, of course, is illustrative only and we may resort to other embodiments of our invention to the full extent indicated by the eneral meanings of the terms in which t e claims are expressed.,

On the drawings Figure l is a front elevation of a support for the principal parts. of the construction of our timer;

-Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the support shown in Figurell, viewed from the right;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing the support with one of the contactcarrying members aixed in place;

Figure 5 is a section through the circuitbreaking lever'or interrupter element of the timer carrying the movable electrode; and

Figure 6 is a front view in elevation of ythe timer complete. f-

The same numerals identify the same parts throughout. l

Our timer comprises a support 1 which is in the form of a 'disc or circular plate of metal, and is adapted'to be mounted to rotate with the armature of an ignition magneto, by being mounted on one end of the shaft thereof. To this support is movably secured a lever or interruptor element 2; which is fully shown in Figures 5 and 6; and which is held in place by connecting it to a projection 3 on the support l near the circumference of the latter. carries a movable electrode or contact, which co-operates with a fixed contact carried by a block 4. This block 4, as shown in Figures 4 and 6, is made fast to the support l. The projection 3 is diametrically in line with the block 4 and the electrical connections will be such that when theelectrode carried, by the lever 2v is held a ainst the electrode carried by the block 4, t e circuit of the armature will be closed. This block will be of brass or other; metal.

The support 1, as indicated'in Figures 1 and 3, is'preferahly made in one piece by casting it out of some suitable metal, such as brass. The projection 3 will be on one face; this face being the forward face of the timer; and on the rear or Opposite face of the support 1 is' a hollow integral boss or hub 5, which enables the support to be mounted upon the shaft of the armature of the magneto, which of course does not need to be shown or described herein. The pron jection 3 will have grooves or recesses in its` The lever 2 opposite ends, as indicated et 6 in Figure' ithe ends in question being shown as the ripper and lower ends on Figur-e It, snelheing, more properly speaking, the advance end and the trailing end ci' the projection l, with reference to the direction ci rotetion ci? the support; and the outer'iace ci this projection, or that ace 'which is nearest the rim or the support, will have e similar groove or recess 7 illustred in Figure Both the grooves 6 and the groove 7 will have 'threaded holes 8 in the bottom of the saine to enable the lever 2 to he, secured to the projection 3.

@n its rear face the support 1 will have an opening 9 to receive the ground brush or the timer; this opening being approximately in line with the projection 3; and dieinetrically opposite the opening 9, there will 'be an opening 10 to receive the screw which faste-ns the block 4 to the support i.,

The lever or interruptor element of the timer indicated in Figures and 6, and it is shown ss comprising a. curved body approximately semi-circular in shape, with reintorcing ribs 11 alone both its lateral edges. At one enel it is made a little thicker and provided with a threaded opening in which ive screw .small bolt 12. This holt may be inserted into the threaded opening from heiovvq with reference to Figure 5, and to the lhead ot this bolt, which is to he located on 'the inner or' concave side oit' the lever, Wili he Welded or adixed in any other manner, e, small piece or pletinmn or other substance. This contact oint is indicated by the numeral 'i3 and 1t constitutes the movable electrode or our timer.

The rihs 11 increase in Width trom the ends which the boit 1% is located to- 'Werds the opposite end o' the lever 2. At this opposite end of the lever is caried 'e t-shapecl fastening device ist. This device 14. is secured to the lever 'by s rivet 15 and it receives between the arms thereof a friction hlock 16, which can he mede of vtilcre or some other suitable insuiating material. The rivet 'l5 engages the middie voi the tastening device and the end oit the lever between the ribs 11; and the Afriction bioclr 'lt is held in place by a rivet liQtvhich passes through both the block and the ribs ll; end by a similar rivet 17 which posses through the tvvo arms of the device 14 and 'the block 16, at right angles to the first rivet. This ast named rivet projects somewhat beyond one of the arms ot .the fastening device and' secures thereto an ongle iece 18; this angle piece being located at a s ight distance from the adjacent end of the lever Q.

The lever 12 isomounted on the support i by yieldable means, such as resilient leaf springs 19, which are arrangedin sets: one set being riveted to the end orn the lever` adjacent the boit l2 end losing secured to the projection 3 at one extremity of the same;

and the other set being secured to the opposite end of the lever 2 -by placing them between the lever and the fastening device i4 and causing them. to be engaged by the rivet l5; whereby e single lrivet secures the ends of these springs and the fastening device in place. The other ends of the second Set of springs will ci course be made 'fast to the opposite end ot' the projection 3. The ends ot these springs which engage the projection are placed in the grooves 6 und are held hy suitable screws entering the 'threaded holes 8.. may of course use as many springs in. each set as circumstances require but in this case We show two leaf springs extending 'from the rivet l5 to the projection 3, end three extending from the other end ot the lever to 'the projection 3. At their ends "which are joined to the lever, the springs ci" each set may he in. contact with each other, but et the ends which are tastened to the projection 3 it is desirable that the springs separated. We accordinglyv insert betr/veen 'the springs at the projection 3 a number of shims 20 (Figure 5): these shims being perforated to let the binding screws "o through them as the springs are affixed to the projections 3. Hence the electric current in passing through the electrode 13 to ground does not flow from one spring to smother hetween the lever 2' and the projection S; but tollovvs the line of euch spring separately. "lherefore sparking hetWeen the springs and rusting or oxidation thereof are prevented.

The springs above described serve simpljvr as carrying or mounting springs which unite the lever to the support i. We may also employ another set of springs 21 which ex tend 4from the groove i ci! theprojection 3 'to the angle piece it?. lhese latter springs constitute an operating member, and serve primarily to hold lever 2 in circuit-closmg position. 4We have shown the springs 2l as being three in number. for example; 'tvvo being 'fasten-ed both to 'thc projection 3 and the angle piece 18 hy suitable screws; one arm of the angle piece extending out from the element l-i and having a threaded opening, indicated at 22 in Figure 5, to rcceive one of these screws; the other screw entering the hole 8 in the groove 7: and the ends of these two springs 21 at the projection 3 may be separated by shims for the seine reasons as the springs 20. The third spring of the operating set may be simply a reinforcing spring Ywhich extends from the projection 3 only shout half Way to the anglepiece 18. See Figure 6.

m The support '1 may he, recessed on. its iront face as indicated at 13 in Figures i. 2, 3, 4 and t5. adjacent the 'face of the projccwillengage a' tion 3 opposite the groove 7; and in this recess we may place a flat plate of insulation 24 which prevents contact between the block 4 and the support 1. kThe pla-te 24 and the block 4 are held fast to the support by means of a screw 25 passing through the hole 10 and the blocky 4; andthe hole at the rear ofthe support may have a shoulder to serve as a seat for an insulating washer or bushing 26 which keeps the shank and head of the screw 25 out of contact with the support 1. As 'indicated in Figure 4, the bush ing 26 extends entirely lthrough the support from back to front, piercing the insulation 24 and entering theback of the block 4 which is bored out around the hole forv the screw 25 for that purpose.y This screw will pass through the insulation 24 into a threaded opening vin the block 4 and project slightly beyond the forward face of this block. The projecting end of the screw may be made of reduced diameter and the threads in block 4 need not extend all the way through it; so that after the screw 25` is made tight, the `reduced end of the screw can be riveted over to bind the screw and block in place. f'

The vblock 4 will be long enough to extend across the opening through the boss 5, .and betweenfthe opening through this boss and the screw 25 ity will carry a transverse bolt 27. The head'of this bolt will bellocated on the side of the block adjacent to the bolt 12, and it will have thereon a similar bit of platinum 28 or otherfsubstance to cooperate with the platinumy 13. On lthe 0pposite yface of the block 4 the screw 27 will receive Aa binding nut 29.

In line with the bore" of the hub 5 thel block 4 will have an opening to give passage nectedv\with' the insulated extremity of the generating winding. The hub may also have ra spline or key 30, formed by punching;`

which, when thevsupport 1 is a plied to the end of the' hollow Ishaft of t e armature,

.key way in said shaft and cause the suppdrt l to rotate with the arma ture without slipping.

The springs'21 will actuate the lever 2 so as to cause the electrode 13 to make contact with the electrode 28.l In practice the i lever 2 will be rotated by the support 1v on the inside of u ring, not shown, with cam portions or projections to engage the block 16, and whenever one of such cam portions comes into play, it moves the lever against the' force ofthe springs to se arate the platinum electrodes. The en s of the As usual, one end of the winding of the armature of the magneto, not shown, lwill be connected to ground through the body of the armature and the other. will be joined to the pin which passes through the block 4 and hub 5 yinto the end of the hollow armature `shaft to the winding. This pin will of course be .out of contact with the metal of` the support 1 and the current will flow through this pin, the block 4, the platinum electrode4 28, the platinum electrode 13, the lever 2, and the support l to the magneto. frame and ground. To secure a good ground connection the recess 9 may be provided with a carbon brush which `will be engaged at its inner end by a coiled spring and pressed against the -end of the metallic Vframe orA housing ofthe magneto. Whenever electrodes 13 and 28 are separated the circuit of the primary winding ofthey armature is brokenand high tension current is induced in the secondary, which gives a'spark. The screw 27 can be adjusted when necessary; 'and should anything ever go wrong with the lever '2, it can be taken oif at once by re` moving the screws which fasten the springs to the projection 3. In fact the whole timer construction is' very simple and the number of constituent parts` is few and there is little likelihood of their ever getting out of order or requiring attention. In case of accident or damage however, the parts are all accessible and any one requiring to be, taken offfor repair can be removed at once. The `front end of the borev through the hub 5 is shouldered to receive an insulating washer 31, which goes through the insulation 24 and enters the rear of the block 4. See Figure 4. The pin which is applied to hold the timer on the shaft of the armature, will be of less diameterthan the bore of the hub .5, land therefore its front end will be 'out of contact with everything except the block A4; and the bushing 31 serves to hold the -block against movement around screw 25 asan axis.

The opposite face of the block 4 may be counterbored slightly around the ends ot' the threaded opening for the bolt or screw 27; as indicated in Figure G. By counter-boring the block in this way the adjustment of the screw 27 is facilitated. i

trodes 13 and 28 together andtov separate same it.does not rotate about any definite axis; but rather, as the springs yield, it moves'bodily in the general direction of a diameter through the center of the support 1. This diameter will make an angle with the axis of the bolt 27; but themeeting faces of the electrodes 13 and 28 will always Acome together flat or squarely. i

By increasing the width of the ribs 11 as they approach the blockl, the mass of the timer lever ismade greater at the end ,where wWhen thelever 2 moves to carry the electhis block is located. Hencethe faster the support 1 rotates the more will centrifugal force act to reinforce the springs and hold the lever in circuit-closing position. This fact, in conjunction with the circumstance above-mentioned that the meeting surfaces of the electrodes 13 and 28 always come together and separate squarely, ensures most efficient action; giving us an instantaneous and complete closing of the circuit when the electrodes 13 and 28 touch leach other, and ensuring that the circuit remains closed till it is desired to move the lever to break it; and then the breaking of the circuit is completed just as quickly as the making of it. In other words, the electrodes 13 and 28 do not come together by meeting at their edges and then over their surfaces. Such a mode of operation would not produce either vquick making or quick breaking and the disad vantage thereof is avoided by the construction and mode of operation which we have just described.

With the parts shown in the position indicated in Figure 6, the direction of the rotation is to be taken as counter clockwise. If clockwise rotation is desired, all that has to be done is to remove the bolt 27 from the .block 4 and replace it in such aposition that the electrode 28 will be below the block instead of above it as shown in Figure 6; and to disconnect the lever 2 by loosening the springs which hold it to the projection 3 and then to rotate this lever with the springs 20 thereon about a horizontal axis to carry the block 16 above the block 4 in Figure 6 and the end with the screw 12 below the block 4. Then, by refastening the springs to the projection 3, the necessary reversal of parts is finished and operation in -the reverse direction can take place.

The use of the springs 19 and 21 renders oil unnecessary.

We also wish vto call attention here to the fact that the use of springs enables us to dispense with a 'pivot for the lever 2. If a pivot had to be employed and the lever mounted thereon, this lever could not engage the pivot tightly enough to eliminate movement of the lever in such a manner that it at times would not be perfectly parallel to the face of the support 1. In other words, in order to enable the lever to be moved to separate the electrodes 13 and 28, it would have to be loose enough on its ivot, and this looseness might at times permit the lever to wabble; so that one of its ends would be closer to the support than the other; especially after the pivot becomes worn with constant use. Hence the contacts 13 and 28 instead of meeting squarely over their entire faces to close the circuit, might sometimes touch only at one point adjacent their edges; Whereas the contacts should both separate andvcome together instantaneously over the Whole extent of their meeting faces. The springs make impossible suclh wabbling movement, and hold the lever always arallel to the support 1. In order to get est results, these springs must of course be of some breadth relative to their thickness and we may of course use as many of these springs as are required. The s ring parts 19 attached to the two ends of t e lever 11, and to the bearing or projection 3, can be termed operating or Supporting springs; while the springs 21 can be regarded as supplemental springs for the purpose set forth. From one point of View, the two sets of springs 19 can be regarded as a single spring element, because they work the same as one spring would work if attached to the two ends of the lever 11 and bent around the bearing or projection 3, and attached to this bearing adjacent its middle.

Having described our invention what We believe to be new and desire to secure Letters Patent of the United 'States is y1. The combination of a support havin a projection, a lever comprising a curved body, yieldablefmeans secured to both ends of said lever and said projection to mount said lever, and a resilient operating member secured to said projection and to one end of said lever.

2. A support having a projection thereon, an interrupter element having a curved body disposed adjacent one face of said pro jection, yieldable means secured to the ends of said element and said projection for mounting Said element'in position, and a resilient member connected to said element and to the opposite face of said projection to operate said element.

3. The combination of a rotatable supportA having a projection on one face; an interrupterelement comprising a curved body with reinforcing ribs along its lateral edges disposed in front of said support adjacentone side of said projection, yieldable means secured to the ends of said projection and to 'the ends of said element for holding the element in position, a U-shaped fastening device secured to one end of the element between the ribs, a. block of suitable material in said device, an angle piece secured to said device, and a resilient operating member secured to said element and to the opposite face of said projection.

4. In a mechanical interrupter, a rigid interrupter lever, supporting spring parts supporting the lever for deflection from and to a normal position, and a supplemental spring continually resisting the deflection of t e lever from said normal position.

5. In a mechanical interrupter, al rigid interrupter lever, supportingspring parts attached at both ends of the lever and supporting it for deflection from and to a nor mal position, and a supplemental spring attached to the lever and continually resisting spring attached to the lever and continually 10 the deliection of the lever from said normal resisting the deflection of the lever from said position. v normal position.

ln a mechanical interrupter, a rigid in- In testimony whereof, We have signed our 5 terrupter lever, a spring element attached to names to this specification this 20th day of both ends of the lever, a bearing fastened to February 1920. an intermediate part of said spring elementv to support the lever for deflection from and GOTTLQB F UEGEL. to a normal position and a supplemental HERMAN SCHMID.y 

